The Present Disclosure relates, generally, to connectors.
In electronic devices, there is increasing demand for more compact and more integrated connectors to keep pace with the miniaturization and improved performance of these devices and their components. Thus, a connector has been proposed in which a plurality of conductive patterns has been formed on an insulating film, and the end portions of these conductive patterns are connected to another board. An example of such a connector is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-114710, the content of which is incorporated in its entirety herein.
FIG. 17 is a top view showing a conventional connector mated with another connector. In this drawing, 911 is a female-side base serving as the base of a female connector, and this is mounted on the surface of a circuit board which is not shown in the drawing. Also, 811 is a male-side base serving as the base of a male connector, and this is mounted on the surface of another circuit board which is not shown in the drawing. A terminal accommodating opening 954 is formed in the female-side base 911 and passes through to both surfaces of the female-side base 911. A plurality of female-side electrode patterns 951 are arranged in the lateral direction at a predetermined interval inside the terminal receiving opening 954.
Each female-side electrode pattern 951 has a tail portion 958, extending towards the outside of the female-side base 911, and being connected electrically to each conductive trace in an electric circuit formed on the surface of the circuit board. Also, each female-side electrode pattern 951 has an inner opening 954a and an arm portion 953 defining the perimeter of the inner opening 954a. The inner opening 954a has a narrow portion and a wide portion formed near both ends of the narrow portion. In addition, a plurality of protruding terminals 853 is arranged in the traverse direction at a predetermined interval in the male-side base 811; these terminals serve as the male terminals. Each protruding terminal 853 is connected electrically to a conductive trace of the electric circuit formed on the surface of the other circuit board.
In the initial stage of the mating operation, the male connector is moved towards the female connector in the thickness direction of the female connector (perpendicular to the surface of the Figure), and the connectors are mated. At this time, each electrode 853 protruding from the surface of the male-side base 811 is inserted into a wide portion of the inner opening 954a. Next, when the male connector is moved relative to the female connector in the vertical direction in the drawing, each protruding electrode 853 moves into the narrow portion of the inner opening 954a. This completes the mating of the male connector and the female connector.
Here, each protruding electrode 853 male-side electrode protrusion has a diameter which is greater than the width of the narrow portion of the inner opening 954a, but somewhat smaller than the inner diameter of the wide portion. Therefore, in the initial stage of the mating operation for the male connector and the female connector, protruding electrodes 853 are smoothly inserted into the inner opening 954a of the female-side electrode pattern 951. When a protruding electrode 853 moves into the narrow portion, the space in the arm portion 953 is pushed apart by the protruding electrode 853, and the protruding electrode 853 is pinched from both sides by the arm portion 953. Therefore, when the mating of the male connector and the female connector is completed, the protruding electrodes 853 and the female-side electrode pattern 951 reliably contact each other and establish an electrical connection.
However, it has been difficult to increase the electrode arrangement density as conventional connectors have become more compact and dense. Because the arm portion 953 of the female-side electrode pattern 951 is widened in the lateral direction by a male-side electrode protrusion, there is a possibility that arm portions 953 of adjacent female-side electrode patterns 951 will come into contact with each other when the pitch or lateral interval between female-side electrode patterns 951 is reduced. Because the positions of the wide portions and narrow portion of the inner openings 954a of adjacent female-side electrode patterns 951 are staggered in the vertical direction in a connector of the prior art, the possibility that the contact arm portions 953 will come into contact with each other is reduced. However, because the wide portion of the inner opening 954a of each female-side electrode pattern 951 is positioned sideways with respect to the narrow portion of the inner opening 954a of the adjacent female-side electrode pattern 951, the interval in the traverse direction is reduced. This makes contact between the arm portions 953 of adjacent female-side electrode patterns 951 more likely.